Youtube knife reviews - a few thoughts

Saint Loke

Saint Loke

Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Messages
158
I can watch knife reviews for hours. I use it both as a form for entertainment, and to keep me updated on the latest and greatest. I understand that many of the knife reviewers are just regular guys who put out some vids to help the community. But more and more channels and reviewers are going semi-pro or are making a living as gear and knife reviewers. And trust me, I don't think any of those are going to be millionaires, but they're doing something they love. I respect that. There are many good channels out there, I can name a few I like. Nutnfancy, Preparedmind101, lateboyscout, E2E, wealljuggleknives, tactical, edgeobserver, Jim Skelton to name a few.

I have a wish list for all the youtube channels that keeps giving us knife content:


  • Please state how you acquire the item you review. Did you get paid to review this knife? Did you buy it yourself? Did the company send it to you for free? Stating how you acquire your reviewing objects will increase the integrity of the channel.
  • Please give us the original package. If I'm looking for a knife to buy, I'm mainly interested in what I can expect straight out of the box. Additional custom sheath options are great, but you have to show the original as well.
  • Please don't show 10 minutes uninterrupted video of the reviewer beating a log. Nutnfancy has understood that watching someone just batoning for several minutes is boring, therefore he uses voice-over when he shows vids from hard use, or field trips. Anyone can make videos interesting by using simple production techniques like that.

I'm sure the community here on BF can add to this list.
 
Last edited:
To add to that list:

  • Don't blabber! Keep the video in topic. Make it as short as possible. No personal life stuff, not interested in that.
  • Skip the dimensions and weight and put the info in infobox.
  • Be more critical. How can you tell amazing knife from average if every knife you get is "the most amazing knife so far from X company"?
 
And PLEASE stop "reviewing" and sing the praises of a knife that is brand new unused condition!!!
An Unboxing video is welcome to show how it comes from the factory but don't tell me how great your knife is when you've never used it!
 
Many good additions, A.L and FDE. The reviewing of an unused item is quite disrespectful to the audience.

An other gripe I have is the hidden agendas and the hidden parameters. For instance, are the reviewers taking all elements into account? Some channels give the impression that price point is the most important thing, in other channels durability, an yet others compare all knives to their favorite. Telling the audience by what criteria the knife is judged by is paramount.
 
Andrew at the Edge Observer has stated that he doesn't see his work as a review but rather as a showcase of the product in question.

Personally, I like Edge Observer and the Late Boy Scout. EO has the best production values of anyone and also gives me the angles no one else does, the Late Boy Scout seems to use folders and fixed blades the same way I do with a budget that seems in tune to my pocket.

All in all I trust in any production folder made by a reputable company. The steel will be good, I can put an edge on almost anything and the locks are usually good. The only thing that can make a knife a no-go is feel in hand, no video can do that for me anyway.
 
Saint Loke said:
  • Please state how you required the item you review. Did you get paid to review this knife? Did you buy it yourself? Did the company send it to you for free? Stating how you require your reviewing objects will increase the integrity of the channel.
Click to expand...

That is a very good point and a "peeve" of mine about reviews in general. I do hope that people know that some manufacturers/makers/retailers do give free knives away to select fans for them to write "unbiased reviews" on.
 
A.L. said:
To add to that list:

  • Don't blabber! Keep the video in topic. Make it as short as possible. No personal life stuff, not interested in that.
  • Skip the dimensions and weight and put the info in infobox.
  • Be more critical. How can you tell amazing knife from average if every knife you get is "the most amazing knife so far from X company"?
Click to expand...

This! My biggest pet peeve is the guys with a 10 min intro just to tell you they are going to do a knife review. The title of the video tells me your going to do a knife review, I don't need you to ramble on about what your going to do for longer than you actually do something. This is why I skip the first minute of every video I watch. If they are still rambling I skip 3 mins. If they are still rambling I look else where. Actually the more I think about it, the less I like knife review videos.
 
Here's a thorough knife review...

[video=youtube;0rejda6Ogk0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rejda6Ogk0[/video]
 
Pardon the snot... I had a cold.
 
Saint Loke said:
I can watch knife reviews for hours. I use it both as a form for entertainment, and to keep me updated on the latest and greatest. I understand that many of the knife reviewers are just regular guys who put out some vids to help the community. But more and more channels and reviewers are going semi-pro or are making a living as gear and knife reviewers. And trust me, I don't think any of those are going to be millionaires, but they're doing something they love. I respect that. There are many good channels out there, I can name a few I like. Nutnfancy, Preparedmind101, lateboyscout, E2E, wealljuggleknives, tactical, edgeobserver, Jim Skelton to name a few.

I have a wish list for all the youtube channels that keeps giving us knife content:


  • Please state how you required the item you review. Did you get paid to review this knife? Did you buy it yourself? Did the company send it to you for free? Stating how you require your reviewing objects will increase the integrity of the channel.
  • Please give us the original package. If I'm looking for a knife to buy, I'm mainly interested in what I can expect straight out of the box. Additional custom sheath options are great, but you have to show the original as well.
  • Please don't show 10 minutes uninterrupted video of the reviewer beating a log. Nutnfancy has understood that watching someone just batoning for several minutes is boring, therefore he uses voice-over when he shows vids from hard use, or field trips. Anyone can make videos interesting by using simple production techniques like that.

I'm sure the community here on BF can add to this list.
Click to expand...

If I'm watching a knife review, I'm watching it cause I want to see a knife review. I'm not watching it to hear a diatribe about how Obama is killing America and going to take away all our guns, or to hear that you're gonna focus on being healthy, dieting, and start going to the gym, or to hear the funny story about what your kid/pet/spouse did yesterday if it doesn't relate to the knife being reviewed. If you want to talk about your life, or politics, or whatever, upload a separate vlog type video, and if I truly find you that interesting a person, I'll check it out on it's own.
 
I don't like for the reviewer to blabber on about who they are for 5 minutes while the knife sets on the table and nothing is moving. If you want to become a famous personality then get a job at a radio station or tv station.
 
I can't say I am a fan of Nutn, but a lot of people are (many adolecents and new folks hee, as well as some grown ups). Some folks on videos that have been around a couple 2-3 years seem to fancy themselves as knife and steel experts. The lack of humility, knowledge, and stating thing without leaving amargin for error are perfect examples of this.

Then you have other folks that enjoy the solitude of thinking so highly of themselves and that everyone is beneath them in every aspect of knives that is pathetic. Those people cannot be questioned and feel they are above reproach, and they are more nuissance than necessary. The followers that don't know any better yet decide to be mouthpieces for them are even worse.

My youtube knife review watching is very limited these days to watching to see what a specific knife looks like in comparison to another, or some other angle on a knife. I do not follow anyone or tune in regularly to get my daily dose of narcissism, I have other things to do.
 
RevDevil said:
My youtube knife review watching is very limited these days to watching to see what a specific knife looks like in comparison to another, or some other angle on a knife.
Click to expand...

This is mostly why I watch as well. I admit I have a few YouTube videos downloaded, on stropping for cheap, sharpening, and even "no excuse for a dull knife ever" or something like that, videos I have yet to watch.

Hopefully this will not sully whatever small reputation I have here, but I do occasionally watch a Nutn video... some of the lengthier ones that go in detail on [x knife] can be fairly interesting. I will say he can go on a bit about stuff unrelated to the knife though. And I've never purchased a knife based on any of his reviews. He also has this 3oz max requirement that he is loathe to go over, and that cuts out a lot of good knives for me right there.

I'm not what most heavy users here would consider a hard user (and I guess he is, I don't know) so I can't really relate to videos where the knife just demolished a house or helped build a new log cabin. I think that's cool, but if I gave everyone here a list of my "most used" tasks for a lot of my knives, they'd just laugh. I need to go camping more.
 
I haven't watched many youtube reviews, I found the few I tried worthless. The nutnfancy guy and them some bloviating self-impressed d-bag that sounded like an infomercial huckster (Jim something) were a couple of the first ones I tried, and they were so terrible that since then I've just ignored the youtube results when I google a knife I'm interested in.
 
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